Zogby: Republican Senate Hopefuls Surging

Also, the national political mood, seen as boosting the Democratic Party, has cooled somewhat. "A month ago, even two weeks ago, the Democrats nationwide were doing better than they are today," he said.

Gibbons campaign manager Robert Uithoven said he believed the polls to be correctly reflecting the direction of the race. "Our TV message is working, we're doing a good job of holding on to the Republican base, courting independents, and we even have about 10 percent of the Democrats," he said. "We hope to continue to grow those numbers and make sure Republicans show up to vote."

Both Democrats preferred to call attention to the polls' large swing and said they found it difficult to believe so many voters could change their minds in just a couple of weeks.